The Loner
The Loner (Mairu! 参る!) is the fourth episode of Samurai 7. Summary Gorobei makes a wager with the two assassins sent by Ayamaro. He bets that if the archer fires an arrow at his head, and he stands still, he'll be able to stop it. The archer decides to make it five arrows and if Gorobei looses, they'll take the heads of everyone there. Gorobei says that if he wins, they have to leave. The assassin fires the arrow without giving a reply. Gorobei catches all the arrows (the fifth one in his mouth). The assassins then charge at Gorobei saying that they never agreed to the deal. Kikuchiyo then destroys the beam that supports the upper level walkway. The assassins then take this opportunity to split up. One tries to attack Kikuchiyo but Kambei is able to scare him away. Then the archer attacks Kikuchiyo but Kambei defeats him easily. Then the other attacks Gorobei, who also defeats his foe. Gorobei delivers the final blow by impaling his sword through the head of the assassin, revealing that he was actually a robot. With the battle over and their hideout destroyed, Kirara says that she won't leave until they find all the samurai they need. Masamune offers them his place as their new hideout, and they all accept. Meanwhile, in the palace, there's a blonde samurai in red. He unsheathes his two swords and slashes a vase cleanly in half at incredible speed. Ukyo, who was watching the whole time, applauds the samurai. The samurai mentions to Ukyo that he heard that he (Ukyo) was having trouble with a farm girl. Elsewhere in the palace, Ayamaro sits in his room with his advisor and another samurai, Hyougo. Hyougo grabs his sword in sheath. Ayamaro asks if anybody's outside. Hyogo says that Kyuzo, the samurai in red from before, and Ukyo are. Ukyo asks his father to send his two samurai to defeat Kambei and the others, since samurai can only defeat samurai. Ayamaro says that they are his best bodyguards. His advisor says that they should send the bandits. Ukyo comments that he hates the Nobuseri or bandits. Meanwhile, Kirara and Katsushiro are walking the streets of the city. Kirara mentions that there's not much time left before the rice bends and the bandits will be coming soon to their village again. She then explains to Katsushiro that her crystal around her neck uses water to sense different things. Suddenly, a reengage cart comes through the street. Katsushiro quickly pulls Kirara to safety. He reminds her that he'll never let go of her hand again. They arrive at the post office and send a letter to Kanna village informing them of their progress. The old man in the post office tells another man to inform the magistrate that they have located the girl and samurai. Elsewhere, Gorobei and Rikichi keep a lookout. Rikichi asks Gorobei why they are hiding and doing this. Gorobei says that Masamune made a good point. They can't escape battle, so its best to just keep a look out and get the upper hand. Just then, Gorobei spots Kyuzo. Hyogo reminds Kyuzo that their job is to take care of the girl, not kill samurai, but Kyuzo walks off anyway. Hyogo lets him go. Katsushiro and Kirara walk back to the hideout and see Kambei along the way. They rush to him, telling him they couldn't find any samurai, but Kambei makes Kyuzo's prescence known. Katsushiro realizes they were followed. Kambei and Kyuzo begin to walk in a circle. Kambei asks for Kyuzo's name, knowing he's been summoned. Kyuzo gives it to him then subsequently challenges him. Kambei accepts and they have a brief duel before Kambei ends it, telling Kyuzo he can't kill him now because of the job he promised to do. He leaves, but Kyuzo raises his blades to kill him. Just then, Kikuchiyo arrives and Kyuzo flees. Kambei touches the cut on his neck and says he wants Kyuzo for the cause. Category:Episodes